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Bakuzan Burlycloud
Bakuzan Burlycloud '-- ''"...a'th'Stoneplow Burlyclouds, Trade Baron a'tha Four Winds" -- Tillers' Union Chair for ''Export, Trade and Tourism, 'Grand Alliance ''Supplier', Witchberry magnate, '''Trade Baron '''of the [[Four Winds Trade Company|''Four'' Winds]], accomplished chef and caterer -- is an 'Alliance-aligned '''Mainland Pandaren from 'Stoneplow in the Valley of the Four Winds. Motor-mouthed and blunt, Baku has no qualms about sharing her beloved Tillers-grown vegetables, noodle bowls and brews with the good people of the Alliance.' After the events of Patch 6.2, Baku can be found managing her own trade, export and enforcement company, the Four Winds Trade Company. Barring that, she's likely harvesting strange plants in the wilds of Draenor and beyond, mastering the uses of her 'plantdaren' form, sitting atop light posts in the Cathedral District, or catering exotic dishes to the guinea pigs - that is to say, customers - of the Alliance. At a Glance Bakuzan, or 'Baku', as most folk call her, has a well-built frame with thick layers of muscle and fat hidden under a deceiving layer of fur, as is expected for a Pandaren in her station; she doesn't have abnormal Herculean strength, but she's lifted more than a few barrels in her time, so chucking around Human-sized miscreants isn't difficult for her at all. She's covered in a light layer of said coarse fur; formerly a dark, rich soil shade, it's lightened considerably with flecks of ashen brown and even grey streaks running throughout. Her heart-shaped face, once plump and squished, has thinned out considerably; cheekbones noticeably jut outwards from her gaunt visage. Still peppered with large but non-obtrusive fuzzy eyebrows, her good eye is extremely expressive; often sparkling with happiness or cloudy when she's downcast. Her left eye is a solid ice-blue hunk of titanium and cobalt; a mechanical marvel crafted by a Draenei Artificer-turned-Ebon Blade. There are varying sizes of burn-marks on the same left side of her face, small spots where fur won't grow back in due to heavily damaged skin. She has wispy brown and shock-white hair on her head, more often than not pinned up strategically out of the way, adorned with well-worn but cared-for ornaments; it's almost always cropped short and in some sort of bun or pigtails. Bakuzan also carries the Tillers Union dual-scythe insignia branded on her right shoulder along with a small lotus under her left collarbone; ink tattoos don't really show up that well on Pandaren, and are often hidden by leafy fronds draped carelessly over her collarbones. Callouses on her hands show when they aren't covered with her normal pairs of thick leather gloves. She's seen walking with a relaxed, sauntering gait, often swinging her arms in rhythm and occasionally near-tripping on some microscopic obstacle. Faint scars, lined patches where fur won't grow back in, are traced upwards across her ribcage and small chest in a semi-circle, leading down the center of Bakuzan's midsection and ending abruptly above her belt line; the shape is akin to a question mark curving around her torso. There are more of the same along her upper arms that she'll typically hide with some form of gauze or undershirt, even in blistering-hot weather. She appears to be self-conscious of them, and won't talk about their origin. Another thick gash has been added to the scar pile; a thick, triangular stab wound, indicative even of a serrated blade, rests in the center of the question-mark scar - on her back is an exit wound resembling the same. Due to the rushed nature of healing done on the wound to garner the scar, the fur patches around it no longer sync, leaving her with misshapen white and ashen-brown asymmetrical splotches. Bakuzan is often found wearing varying degrees of loosely-fitting light leather armor, dyed in varying colors, riveted and tanned to withstand the rigors of tedious farmwork; most recently she proudly displays the colors of the Tillers Union in accordance with their sponsorship of her Company. She has numerous tiny bottles and pouches strapped to one of two belts she always wears in the old Pandaren Brewmaster tradition - filled with esoteric cooking ingredients, poison cures, seeds, jugs of tea and bags of rich Valley soil. Baku smells faintly of fresh-cut oak, petrichor and cut grass at all times. She speaks with a ''very heavy Valley of the Four Winds slur that intensifies based on mood or inebriation, and is often a point of ridicule or note by those listening. Personality Traits Inquisitive. Loudmouthed. Borderline hedonistic with food and drink. Always tries to find a way to work food into a situation, especially to provoke, comfort or defuse. Easily embarrassed, but just as easily recovers. Defensive of those with which she forms a bond; always the first to greet a stranger with a meal or a welcoming smile (yet the hand of friendship can just as easily curl up into a fist of animosity). Fidgets quite a bit; hates staying in one place for too long. Often jumps into conversations concerning topics of which she has faint knowledge. Constantly questioning others about their histories or appearances, often without regard for tact. Prone to exaggeration and over-embellishment. The Pandaren are renowned for their steadfast neutrality, but if given the order to choose between their two traditional philosophies Bakuzan would - even with her Alliance favoritism - choose the Huojin way of life. To Baku, apathy is the worst injustice one can perform; sitting around and daydreaming your life away while waiting for your fields to till themselves is inane and insulting. General History Pandaren are known for their generosity, but the Burlycloud family is the rare exception. Warring brothers divided their farmlands between growing hops and barley or tobacco - relatively unused before the Mists parted in anything except ceremonies - and their infighting, mismanagement and poor treatment of their farmhands had driven a lot of the ancestors of other Valley residents away in disgust. During her cubhood, Baku had mostly kept to her own family at the insistence of their stubborn hatred, so she wouldn't know many Pandaren family names offhandedly. Eventually, the Burlycloud infighting drove their line to near starvation in their isolation, and an arranged marriage between the Burlyclouds and Shinebarrels' youngest cubs in order to merge the family lands and businesses was the only financial solution that in their desperation could piece together. When the Mists parted and the Mantid swarmed the Serpent's Spine at the insane Empress Shek'zeer's command, the rural village of Stoneplow was the first and last line of defense for the unprepared Valley. A nearby Shado-Pan regiment moved quickly to evacuate its residents, but Bakuzan's family were both too close to the initial crack in the Wall and much too stubborn to leave their precious farmland. Bakuzan herself paid a heavy price for this; in the midst of the chaos her mother was attacked and carried off by a Mantid footsoldier. Baku was defenseless to help - she grabbed onto the Mantid's leg and tried to free her mother, but was heavily injured in the attempt. The foul creature swung down at her with one of its kyparite weapons and struck her in the face, knocking her hard back down to the ground from the altitude they'd reached. Bakuzan then blacked out, and when she woke up, she was alone in Halfhill with no recollection of how she arrived. Her superficial wounds eventually healed over with minimal scarring, but her eye had been irreparably damaged - for all appearances and purposes, the socket in her eye had healed over with a large chunk of Kyparite lodged within in place of a functional eye. Bakuzan was instructed to stay in Halfhill until the Mantid were cleared out, and was eventually hired on as a farmhand for the Tillers to earn her keep when it became clear to the Mudclaws that such a thing wasn't going to happen so easily. After some-odd years of working in Halfhill, word spread that Shunryu Shinebarrel, her arranged future husband, had been seen alive in the mountains of Kun-Lai and was soon making his way back to the Valley. Bakuzan starkly objected to this reunion, and thanks to a hasty retreat facilitated through the timely arrival of a travelling Alliance merchant ship, Bakuzan stowed away and ended up alone in Stormwind's massive shipyard. Enamored by this new land, she joined up with the races of the Alliance, registering as a citizen of Stormwind and setting out to make her own fortune. Baku made a name for herself upon arriving in Stormwind working as a 'meatshield for hire'; a cubhood spent building her hardiness up on the farm has toughened her skin and strengthened her muscles, and she took great pleasure in using her abilities to earn a few coins for a round of brews. Bakuzan never had lofty goals to become a famous adventurer, or a respected commander, or even a well traveled explorer; she ended up being just the right person at the right time for when she was needed. Her initial dream of becoming a Stormwind Guard nearly had the Pandaren laughed out of the city gates; only after turning to wearing false sets of armor and narrowly avoiding arrest for impersonation of an officer did Bakuzan finally wise up and look for more profitable business ventures elsewhere. Bakuzan eventually returned to her oft-rejected roots, and spent most of her time either working on her humble farm growing cabbages and witchberries in the Heartland of the Valley of Four Winds, hovering around Stormwind harassing the citizenry, filing paperwork for her Company or furthering her odd druidic-esque method of plant manipulation. Using her clout as a Tillers Council member, earned through tireless dedication towards promoting the Pandaren culture, Bakuzan funded a small start-up after the events of the Tanaan Jungle invasion. Known as the Four Winds Trade Company, Baku seeks to form supply chains and deliveries to the front lines of Alliance battles in order to aid the war effort (and make quick coin while she's at it, by picking up side jobs and odd contracts from unorthodox clientele). Since the formation of the Light's Accord, Bakuzan has taken her Trade Baron title very seriously - ramping up employment, securing further trade routes and stockpiling goods for barter and vendor. She intersperses her long days with visits to the Ox Temple in the Townlong Steppes, meditating to ask for much-needed fortitude. Appearances: * Invasion of Tanaan [ 625 K.C. ] * Tournament of Ages [ 625 K.C. ] * Army of the Truthful campaign [ 625 K.C. ] * Alexei's Trial [ 625 K.C. ] * Formation of the Light's Accord [ 625 K.C. ] * Honnoji's Return [ 625 K.C. ] * Reclamation of the Blasted Lands [ 35 L.C. ] Bakuzan and the Strange Case of the Kyparite Eye Bakuzan did not walk away unscathed from the initial swarm on Stoneplow - she sustained injuries to her face when she was struck by a Kyparite weapon, wielded by a Mantid footsoldier, as it was carrying off Baku's mother. The physical damages all but healed, except, strangely, her eye and the dead skin around it. For all intents and purposes, it appeared as though it'd been outright replaced with a Kyparite replica. For years, Bakuzan's left eye was a point of contention among her own kind and a curiosity for people who don't know her history. When confronted or mocked about it, there was no hesitation from the Pandaren in proving its functionality and uniqueness. When looking at Baku from a distance, it almost looked as though her eye had been completely replaced with a false glass mock-up; fully functional despite its discoloration, Bakuzan never had issues with vision until overexertion and damage to it caused it to crack and splinter outward. After Company-related events in Uldum, her eye was damaged and subsequently repaired, but it appeared that its previous ability to unconsciously shield Bakuzan from harm with a spontaneous Kyparite shield when necessary had dissipated. Present Day : Leaving the Whole World Blind During the climax of an event in aiding a druid of the Highguard, Bakuzan took a particularly nasty swipe from a saronite-plated undead wyrm, knocking her silly and finally fracturing her eye into irreparable shards - lost to the dry, dead earth of the Plaguelands forever. Coldmaul, a Draenei Artificer and member of the Ebon Blade, has arranged a deal with Bakuzan to replace the eye with a prosthetic - a Titanium/Cobalt apparatus, connected to the nerves in her brain, engineered and enchanted to allow her unhindered sight. This has been perfomed in exchange for compensated repairs to his trading vessels in all Jade Forest and Krasarang ports, along with a not-so-modest gold payment plan. So far, Bakuzan's been good on paying back the installments of this plan, dreading any sort of repossession that the Draenei may feel entitled to performing... First Breath of the Four Winds Upon Bakuzan's pilgrimage to Stoneplow, she was horrified to find her family homestead and its acres had been burned to the ground. After an untold time of kneeling in the blackened dirt, she picked herself up to realize that the areas around the small village were littered with remnants of Alliance and Horde armaments alike. Bakuzan then had a moment of brevity - the Alliance had attempted to aid her people ever since their untimely introduction on the Wandering Isle, going so far as to lay down their lives to amend the Sha situation they had unwittingly aided in unleashing. What had she done for them since arriving in Stormwind, other than sit on lightpoles and heckle passerby? Nothing. Becoming a Stormwind Guard was a hopeless pipe dream; a waste of time - a farce, really. Bakuzan rose off the ground and dusted herself off. After mindlessly sifting through the rubble of her house, she finally retrieved an old shovel - the only thing she took from the wreckage - and set off towards the temple of the Black Ox, Niuzao, for meditation and self-reflection. Upon arriving, Baku noticed the meager rations of the monks in training. They looked barren and bland; plain harvests from the Valley - brews, noodles, roasted fish, the occasional broth - but it filled up the trainees as if they were eating an entire banquet. That's when it hit her; Baku's way to aid the Alliance. Cooking for a handful of friends was one thing. Supplying meals to an entire army was definitely another. The disciples of Niuzao had given her many saying to reflect on during her stay in the temple; the saying that stood out the most hit Baku the hardest, as it spoke to her repressed feelings concerning her family's death - ''''To fight out of fear or anger is to fight a war that never ends.' Bakuzan could not continue to fight a war alone that had long since been over. The Mantid were all but wiped out; their Empress and murderous Klaxxi, deposed. There was no other way for Baku to move but forward; the path that lay ahead was one that she had tentatively stepped onto some time before - in service to the Grand Alliance that had so easily welcomed her in as one of their own. After a period spent in meditation, Baku left the temple and headed for the first portal back to Stormwind. She had work to do. Many sleepless nights passed, and Bakuzan perfected, of all things, an instant noodle ration that Alliance infantry could keep with them for sustenance during long campaigns. Sure, a mage can magically conjure food with the Arcane arts, but nothing like what the Pandaren are capable of cooking - chiefly when its ingredients are enriched by Valley soil and Vale waters. When tested with late-night patrolling members of the Stormwind Guard, the meal was a resounding success - using the kit provided the 'customer' with a piping hot bowl of nutritious and filling noodles. The profit of these instant meals, in addition to the funding provided by the Tillers' Union and Bakuzan's witchberry near-monopoly, have aided in funding the Four Winds Trade Company operations. Bakuzan's instant meals continue to be produced at a local level in the Jade Forest and shipped out to Alliance encampments all across Azeroth; primarily in the Ashran territories, where they're a local favorite with Pandaren conscripts (for obvious reason). Her Company has slowly but surely grown to be a bloated behemoth of for-hire foolishness, known around the Eastern Kingdoms and beyond for their admittedly unorthodox successes in trade, supply and sellswordery. Bakuzan's stint as Trade Baron - a moniker lifted from the Goblin hierarchy with abounding affectations, thanks to puns regarding her species - has been monetarily successful, if not physically taxing on the young Baron. Bakuzan herds her employees much as a mother duck herds her ducklings; out of the safety of a still pond, and directly into a storm drain, whereupon she puffs up and shouts until the situation is righted by well-meaning allies. Romance / Relationships Bakuzan is single and not looking. The Company won't run itself, you know. -- Barsos Ironhide On any given day, if you listened hard enough above the din of criers, recruiters or vendors in the Cathedral Square, one could hear the sounds of a pair arguing; one, a varied-in-pitch female voice, speaking in an oft-admonishing tone, and the other, a ghostly echo, near-metallic, echoing eerily off the open walls of the Square and its Fountain. These two voices would be likely from none other than Bakuzan and her abjectly confusing relationship with Barsos Ironhide, an undead Dwarven Ebon Knight and general multi-purpose nefarious element. Their lust-tinged enmity with each other was nearly always displayed prominently by their offbeat - and audibly detrimental - conversations, filled with threats of casual violence, lewd language and raucous laughter. It was made abundantly clear that Bakuzan held Barsos in high regard, tolerating his ridiculous (and sometimes illegal) antics in oft swooning admiration of his physical strength, sporadic charms, dogged determination and pragmatism. That rugged beard he keeps maintained in a variety of styles didn't hurt, either. Barsos in return was steadfast in his role in protecting her from harm, referring to her as his 'Applebottom' (among other lewd and lascivious terms), and showering the hapless Pandaren in sporadic bouts of heavy-handed physical affections (much to the chagrin of anyone else within eyesight). After aiding in resurrecting him from the 'dead' - again - the two were nigh-inseparable. The relationships finally fractured apart due to Barsos' gratuitous usage of raising the dead igniting an insult-flinging battle in which she compared him to the former Lich King. After vanishing for weeks, Bakuzan assumed he was KIA and took back her maiden name. She still keeps the ring made of his dog tags, wearing it close to her heart on a thick knot of roots hidden by layers of fur, leather and greenery. Alexei Bakuzan had experienced woefully unrequited feelings for a Draenei from the alternate Draenor from the Te'Amun order that went by the name of Alexei. They met before he had fully committed to the order, and she aided in teaching him basic words in Common, with the added benefit of boosting her own strength in the language. As the days passed, Bakuzan grew more attached to the Draenei, but knew that due to his order, his species and his infinitely longer-lasting lifespan, he would - or could - never reciprocate in the same manner. After the Four Winds aided the Te'Amun with the Highguard's Silver Reaver, Bakuzan and Alexei had drifted even further apart - with him spending time with his adopted daughter and new mate, Raoling, while Bakuzan buckled down to focus on her Company - and budding relationship with Barsos Ironhide. A series of events with the Iron Horde lead to Alexei's peaceful family life shattered - his daughter murdered and wife missing and presumed dead in their home of Eventide Landing. Alexei soon fell to fel corruption, leading to a party being sent for his apprehension and arrest. After a series of investigations and battles with morbid consequence, Alexei was arrested. He stood trial against the Te'Amun's fledgling triumverate, with Bakuzan acting as a judge of character and witness - and was finally sentenced to be stripped from all titles and honorifics, along with all but the basest contact with the Light. Alexei was placed under house arrest to be treated for his fel sickness, and spends his days quietly fishing and making a small living for himself under the watchful eye of the Te'Amun's Triumverate. It is unknown whether or not he will ever reappear in Bakuzan's life, finally purged of his demonic taint. Other Allies & Acquaintances The Four Winds Trade Company General Employee Listing : [ WIP ] The Highguard Ranger Lady Aeriyth Dawnsorrow, Lynnesta Val'kirn, Sir Binor Dungalion & Arthalden Lightshard: [ WIP ] The Te'Amun Lightwarden Rhuua, Highseer Kavaaru, Justicar Epilvik & Anchorite Aeiia : [ WIP ] The Citrine Eagle Highlord Zaria Blackmoore, Xmir Smythe, Sir Shindo & 'Slick' Mctash : [ WIP ] Disbanded & Absorbed Affiliations / Misc. Members of the Shadowtalon Company, Silver Hand Chapter et al [ WIP ] The Shinebarrel Family Meanwhile, Bakuzan unfortunately does have an arranged-marriage partner, Shunryu Shinebarrel, that absolutely repulses her. Not much is known about the Shinebarrel family at present - only that they were once a prominent source for materials grown in the Valley and used for production of Pandaren brews. Their granary has been destroyed in the Mantid raid on Stoneplow, and their fortunes scattered to the wind along with their product, and the once-prideful, snobby family members were forced to live as beggars; like the Burlyclouds, the Shinebarrels were not gun-shy about creating enemies in higher places, and to this day not a soul in the Valley can say either family name without a grimace or, at best, a look of pity. The youngest Shinebarrel, Shiyu-Nei, was sent off to the Eastern Kingdoms to train up her innate skills in the Arcane. Sources say the slovenly Shunryu can often be found sleeping under the steps of any bar in Pandaria. So far he hasn't found Bakuzan, and she's personally trying her hardest to keep it that way. Combat Despite the casual assumptions she gets thanks to her species, Bakuzan is not a traditional monk; as a cub, she had no patience for their renowned meditation techniques or spirituality. She spent her childhood on a farm lifting heavy barrels, eating sparsely and fighting off virmen and other pests, toughening up her body with the rigors of farmwork. At best, her fighting style can be boiled down to a stubborn refusal to die, supplemented by naturally augmented accelerated healing abilities. She rarely brute-forces her opponents out with pure strength; instead, she toughs it out until she's worn them down, and her innate healing allows her to shrug off most blows that would incapacitate lesser humanoids - at the expense of pure offense, Bakuzan favors a spongy, tanking defensive style of combat, allowing herself to be hit to spare others in harm's way at the expense of not being very strong offensively. Despite Bakuzan's constant internal struggles to act as a responsible business owner and keep her rather raucous employees in line, she doesn't mind getting into spats when sufficiently irked - or inebriated - and won't hesitate to physically start a fight when incensed enough by way of insults to her species, her Company or her employees. Since starting the Company, however, Bakuzan has taken to more of a backseat healing role; choosing to use her innate talents with plant life siphoning and redirection to aid her allies in battle instead of staying on the front lines. When all else fails, Baku can always rely on her trusty shovel to bash the heads in of foes that get too close - just like whacking Vermin on the farm back home. When the Pandaren is in prime form, her Dirtbringer is a force to be reckoned with. Bakuzan rarely drinks alcohol, a somewhat rarity of her species, but when she does imbibe, her tolerance for pain skyrockets, turning the ordinarily-agreeable woman into a bulldozing berserker. Jade Witch Brew is Bakuzan's favored brew, made with witchberries grown on her own farmstead - it serves to clear her head and focus her plant-channeling, and as such is kept close by in the moderately-sized brew keg on her back. As far as her healing goes, think in the terms of a restoration-focused druid, drawing upon powers of nature for healing, but in a much more rough-and-tumble fashion. Unlike followers of Remulos, those whom may show restraint out of respect or empathy for its life, Bakuzan will not hesitate to physically pull the life forces out of a nearby plant if necessary to imbue her allies with life-saving energies. She views them as a means to an end; much in a fashion to be expected by a Tiller-by-birth, plants are grown to be used in meaningful ways, not merely fawned over or coddled. Due to her upbringing in the Valley and subsequent work as a farmhand, Bakuzan is attuned to the natural energies that flow from both the Mists and the magically imbued Valley soil. Thanks to this, she has a special way with nearly all plants; more than just a green-thumb, she can 'understand' them, in a way; both to accelerate growth for her own gain, and to be used as siphons in healing batteries for others in dire situations. In addition, her resistance to and awareness of poisons and disease are greatly heightened to near-invulnerable rates. We're talking elephant tranquilizer dose sizes of poison or knockout materials to affect her. Overall, the Bakuzan running the Company is much different than the Bakuzan that landed alone in Stormwind's harbor - she's much more likely to try and end disputes with a compromise or a cold shoulder. Smashing a potential contact in the face with her shovel doesn't bode well for business. Unfortunately, pride is still Baku's biggest downfall; when provoked she puts more into showmanship and bluffing than any actual combat, and due to lack of decent experience, odds are she'll trip or knock herself out first when sober. Despite said bravado and swaggering when finally pushed to violence, Bakuzan will never kill or seriously injure anyone she's in a fight with unless it's absolutely necessary for her own survival, or she's incredibly intoxicated and has no control of her faculties. She talks a mean game, but will absolutely not perform a killing blow unless she's backed into a corner, and often has to stop employees from doing so on her behalf. Plant-daren A laborious recovery from a failed assassination attempt - and subsequent overdose of an extremely potent anti-necrotic poison antidote, administered whilst half-buried in a pile of Draenor shaman-blessed earth and a Draenor Ancient's Death Bloom - grew Bakuzan's inherently occurring self-healing tendencies to an exponential degree. During an attempt to administer an antidote to free her from a convulsion-inducing poison, Bakuzan thrashed her way into an overflowing work bench and crashed into a pot containing a Death Bloom, recently claimed from Gorgrond and kept in the Outpost's herb garden. As she lay on top of the upturned earth, the bloom, seeds and various saplings, all mashed together in a pile of plant detritus, bonded the plant matter's root system to her then-open wounds and aided in her healing process. Since then, Bakuzan has been able to summon, regrow and mentally control thick green growths of tendril-like vines that effortlessly sprout from her own body, as well as having her aforementioned green thumb enhanced to heights unimagined - acting as a sort of 'plantspeaker' to botanical life across Azeroth and beyond. These natural sprouts don't just appear to superficially be a part of the armaments the Pandaren wears on a daily basis, but are fully integrated into her form - often forcing her to show to the curious or suspicious the holes cut and stitched specifically through her leathers as a place for the vines to pass through unheeded. Thick sheaves of bark plating sprout outwards from her clavicles in jutting layers, leaving room for untold amounts of quickly-regenerating ropes of greenery to trail down and around her torso and ending in far-reaching and stable roots that wrap around her legs - easily adaptable to root Bakuzan to the ground to absorb excess nutrients from the soil or to provide stability when needed. Bakuzan_vines_normal.png|Bakuzan's vines at rest. Note the roots additionally trailing down her legs, ready to soak up water or nutrients from the earth. Bakuzan_vines_brantlers.png|Her newest 'fashion choice', born of necessity - the damn things won't stop growing! Offensively used for goring. Bakuzan_vines_ironbark.png|The vines wind down and around her form together tightly and quickly harden to form thick bark segmented plating. These same roots are, honestly, the most key to Bakuzan's odd method of plant-channeling - without their support, she is unable to tap into nearby plants and siphon life from them; as she's not a traditional Druid, gifted with the ability to gently direct precious healing from her surroundings, the sprouts from the influence of the Death Bloom act as a sort of siphoning and overriding system - enabling Bakuzan to quickly inhibit or encourage the growth of greenery around her in a pinch, by integrating her own roots with those of the host plant in question. As a whole, the vines proper act naturally as secondary and even tertiary sets of appendages, working with near-surgical precision when Bakuzan has full mental acuity to devote to such things. Bakuzan's taken to storing smaller trinkets, Winds-centric paperwork and more valuable things inside these growths, citing them as the safest place on her person. Additionally, the living plants sprouting from odd angles on the Pandaren appear to shift forms on Bakuzan's mood and situation; from fully sprouted forms of imitating native Azerothian plant life as camouflage when necessary; hardening into ironwood-shutter-like bark plating for protection when threatened; blooming cascades of multi-colored flowers when joyful or infatuated; even withering away when their host is despondent or physically ill. Armaments Bakuzan unearthed a shovel in the burnt ruins of her family's farmstead during her pilgrimage home; uncharred by the flames that took the small house, but still scuffed and worn from years of age, it's the only relic she was able to recover, and thus very important to her family's storied heritage. The underside of the handle is emblazoned with an ornate 'B'; the metal looks worn and rusted, and appears as if it would be extremely heavy to wield - but Baku is able to carry it as if it weighed nothing at all. If one were to look hard enough at the shovel's head and shaft, it glows an almost imperceptible green-white. Her best guess is decades of use in the nutritive Valley soil had imbued it to somehow never break or bend -- until Barsos Ironhide snapped it in two during an altercation in the Square. With equal parts affection and guilt, her then-on-and-off again romantic interest repaired the broken shovel, reforging the once-noble farm implement into a tool of blackened horticultural destruction he since dubbed 'The Dirtbringer'. Made of thickly folded layers of pressed Titanium with an ironwood hilt, the spade has lost its green glow associated with the healthy farmlands of the Valley, but is infinitely more durable in terms of bashing baddies upside the noggin. In addition to her shovel and her vines, Bakuzan always keeps a floating Thalassian planter next to her as a 'battery' in areas where reliable, healthy flora is scarce. Gifted by a well-meaning Elven ambassador, the admittedly garish planter was passed around from Tiller to Tiller with oh, I couldn't''s and ''please, I insist''s - until it ended up in Bakuzan's care. While trying to impress the Elves of the Highguard with their efforts in Tanaan Jungle, it ironically ended up with her in the cockpit of their Silver Reaver during her capture, and quite possibly saved her life in the toxic environment with its life-giving air filtering. Since being rescued, the planter is kept at a manageable distance at all times, serving as an emotional and physical ballast for Bakuzan. She draws from it when there's no healthy flora, keeps fresh Valley soil in the bowl to aid in growth and will channel bioenergies from it in order to patch up her allies. Musical Influences Keep these in mind if you're actively interacting with Bakuzan; they help set the mood in context! [http://tinyurl.com/blessedcelestially '''Soul Education '''by '''Jamiroquai' - [ Main Theme ]] [http://www.tinyurl.com/bakuzanstheme Kusanagi '''by '''ODESZA - [ Main Arrangement ]] [https://soundcloud.com/harrison_music/happy-boy Happy Boy - Harrison] [http://tinyurl.com/bakuzansdrunkagain Monokuma-Sensei's Lesson ( Dangan Ronpa OST ) - [ Drunk Theme ]] [http://tinyurl.com/piranhalake Sly Cooper & The Thievius Raccoonus - Piranha Lake - [ Brawling Theme ]] [http://tinyurl.com/bakuonpatrol Pepper Steak (OFF Soundtrack) - [ The Four Winds Are Up To Shenanigans Theme ]]